November Buddy Read: Twelve Years A Slave

[Londa]

Andrew, I look forward to your review of the movie
and once again, I have added one of your books to my TBR.

I just have to say that I have truly enjoyed this discussion with all of you! I love dissecting books (and movies) and you all have brought up so many points that I may not have thought about, not to mention swollen my TBR list! Thanks for being so open and thoughtful with your comments.

Second, I think we may have come full circle about Mr. Northup. His own quote seems very appropriate at this point.

Let not those who have never been placed in like circumstances, judge me harshly. Until they have been chained and beaten -- until they find themselves in the situation I was, borne away from home and family towards a land of bondage -- let them refreain from saying what they would or would not do for liberty Bolded words mine :o)

I was thinking about this of and on all last night, and I have come up with a possible epilogue for Mr. Northup's tale. I will add it later. In one way, the fact that Mr. Northup's tale is unfinished is better. We can imagine his future any way we like. It doesn't necessarily have to be negative ;)

[Londa]

Okay I added my Epilogue here

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I think you can see where I am going with it. I am going to have to finish it later. That took longer than I thought. Writing is hard!

[Andrew]

I watched 12 Years a Slave this evening.

The film exposes the slave system for what it was with very graphic acts of violence. In parts it strays from Solomon’s narrative and there are elements of the tale have been missed out. But really how much of the story could you cram into 2 hours!

Interestingly in the film, it’s not only Epps, Epps's wife and Freeman who are portrayed as particularly evil, but even Ford feels as though he has few redeeming qualities! Eliza’s despair, the torture of Patsey and Solomon’s reunion with his family after gaining his freedom were for me very moving.

There is some excellent acting from Ejiofor (one of my favourite actors) as Solomon, Fassbender as Epps and Lupita Nyong'o as Patsey.

Overall I think Steve McQueen has done a great job and I feel that it is definitely worth watching.

It will be good to get your views after seeing it yourselves.

Thank you all for the excellent group read and discussion of the book this month, I really enjoyed it and hope to get together with you all again in the future.

Best regards,
Andrew

[Londa]

Andrew wrote: "...Overall I think Steve McQueen has done a great job and I feel that it is definitely worth wathing..."

Good to hear Andrew!

[A.D.]

I saw 12 years a slave this week and really enjoyed it. The parts that really struck a cord with me were the parts when some slaves showed, or appeared to have, no compassion for other slaves. (view spoiler)[For example, Soloman's response to Eliza(?) when she wouldn't stop crying over her children and his reaction when she was being taken away and was calling for him. I know there was nothing he could do to help her, but he almost seemed kind of happy that she wouldn't be there to get on his nerves anymore. One of the most heartrending parts of the film was when Soloman was left hanging from the tree and was just able to support his weight by balancing on his toes and you saw all the other slaves just going on with their everyday business, even kids playing in the background, pretending that he wasn't there. And then one of the slaves ran up to give him some water before she ran off. It was very heart wrenching because, of course, they could do nothing for him and you know that the woman who took him some water was taking a big risk with that small act of compassion. (hide spoiler)]

What I got from that film was a very visual depiction of the fact that slavery stole lives. The slavers stole 12 years of Northup's life. They also completely took away his humanity and this could be seen from the huge difference between his behaviour around his family at the beginning and the end of the film. He was extremely, self-assured, articulate and charming in the scenes at the beginning of the film. At the end, he could barely really socialise properly with his family. That was very upsetting to see.

I have to read the book now and I really wish I knew what happened to the slaves he left behind, especially Patsey. Slavery was abolished roughly ten years after Northup was freed, so she probably got away from the Epps at the end, but there probably still wasn't much of a happy ending for people like her.

I saw this article in the paper today about Ford that you guys might find interesting.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

[kisha, The Clean Up Lady]

Thanks for the link A.D. I love your analysis of the film. It's very accurate.

[A.D.]

kisha wrote: "Thanks for the link A.D. I love your analysis of the film. It's very accurate."

Thanks, Kisha :-)

[kisha, The Clean Up Lady]

I just finished watching the movie and I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the movie version. I typically like slave movies and can get passed the brutality of slavery while watching. But for some reason this specific film was a bit much for me. The brutality was haunting for me I suppose. I don't really know how to explain in words my feeling when watching this film but it was definitely nothing I'd watch a second time.